'Still processing': Montreal doctor evacuated Ukrainian patients at train station just days before attack
Just days before a missile struck a Ukrainian railroad station, claiming dozens of lives, one Quebec doctor was helping hospital patients onto trains at that very spot.
Now, Dr. Joanne Liu is back home — and she says watching the destruction from afar has been devastating and "difficult to process."
"When you're in those kind of moments where people are fleeing, fleeing for their life, you think that somehow it will be respected," Liu told CTV News.
About 4,000 civilians had been near the station in Kramatorsk the day the missile hit, most of them women and children attempting to flee the Donbas region, where fighting is expected to intensify.
"It was an evacuation spot," said Liu, who is a Montreal emergency physician and the former international president of Doctors Without Borders. "So the fact that there was this attack on this train station is really outraging, to say the least, because it was done during the daytime when it was at the busiest of the activities."
Photos from the scene show bodies covered in tarps, with abandoned suitcases and children's toys scattered outside the station.
At least 52 died in the attack and over 100 people were injured.
Liu said that despite heightened risks, doctors remain committed to continue their work on the front lines.
"We're still processing what happened," she said. "It brings a new load of challenges to a certain extent. But we are going to continue to do that for the time being."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.